Exporting instrument tracks as MIDI file

You can also export instrument tracks as standard MIDI files, see “Exporting MIDI files” on page 498.

Please note:

•As there is no MIDI patch information in an instrument track, this information is missing in the resulting MIDI file.

•If you activate “Export Inspector Volume/Pan”, volume and pan information of the VST Instrument will be converted and written into the MIDI file as controller data.

Comparison

Since instrument tracks are a combination of MIDI and VST features, the instrument track properties and their handling show aspects of both.

Automation considerations

•Automation of the VST Instrument channel settings or the settings for an instrument track is done in the same way as automating regular channels.

•Automation of the specific parameters for a VST Instrument is done in the same way as automating VST effect parameters.

When you set up a VST Instrument in the VST Instruments window, you also need to create a MIDI channel in which to enter the notes that you want the instrument to play. Although the VST Instrument channel and the MIDI track are connected via the VST Instrument, there is no direct connection between, for example, the volume automation of the VST Instrument channel and the events on the MIDI track. If you move the MIDI part, the automated volume curve of the VST return channel will not move with it.

In the instrument track, however, you have one track that includes the MIDI data, the VST Instrument and the channel you wish to automate. Therefore, the information on the automation track will move with the MIDI part.

For more information on track automation, see the chapter “Automation” on page 213.

What do I need? Instrument channel or Instrument track?

•If you need a particular sound without knowing which VST Instrument to use, create an instrument track and use the preview features to find the sound you want.

•Do likewise if the Instrument track restrictions described above do not matter.

•If you are planning to create an instrument track preset, complete with inserts and EQ settings, you have to use an instrument track.

Instrument Freeze

Like all plug-ins, VST Instruments may require a lot of processor power. If you are using a moderately powerful computer or if you are using a large number of VST Instruments, you may come to a point where your computer cannot handle all VST Instruments playing back in real time (the CPU overload indicator in the VST Performance window lights up, you get crackling sounds, etc.).

Enter the Instrument Freeze function! This is how it works:

•When you freeze a VST Instrument, the program renders an audio file of the instrument output (taking into account all unmuted MIDI parts routed to that VST Instrument). This file is placed in the “Freeze” folder within the Project folder.

•All MIDI tracks routed to the VST Instrument, or the instrument track associated with the VST Instrument, are muted and locked (the controls for these tracks will appear “grayed-out” in the track list and Inspector).

•When you start playback, the rendered audio file is played back from an “invisible” audio track, routed to the VST Instrument’s mixer channel. Thus, any effects, EQ or mixing automation will still be applied.

•You can also freeze the mixer channel of the VST Instrument. This freezes any pre-fader insert effects for the channels, just as when freezing audio tracks (see “Freezing (rendering) insert effects for a track” on page 175).

The result of the Freeze is that you get exactly the same sound as before, but the computer processor doesn’t have to calculate the sound of the VST Instrument in real time.

• If you need to use multitimbral parts and/or multiple outputs, set up a VST Instrument channel.

Performing the freeze

The instrument freeze function is available in the VST Instruments window, and in the track list and the Inspector for instrument tracks.

1.Set up the project so that the VST Instrument plays back the way you want it to.

This includes editing the MIDI tracks routed to the VST Instrument, or editing the instrument track, and making parameter settings for the VST Instrument itself. If you have automated parameter changes for the VST Instrument, make sure the Read (R) button is activated.

2.Open the VST Instruments window from the Devices menu, or, if you are using an instrument track, select the track and open the top Inspector tab.

3. Click the Freeze button for the VST Instrument (the button to the left of the VST Instrument slot), or the Freeze button in the Inspector for the instrument track.

The Freeze Instrument Options dialog appears with the following options for the Freeze operation:

The Freeze button lights up. If you check the Project window at this point, you will find that the relevant MIDI/instrument tracks have grayed out controls in the Track list and Inspector. Furthermore, the MIDI parts are locked and cannot be moved.

5. Play back the project.

You will hear exactly the same sound as before freezing the VST Instrument – but the CPU load will be considerably less!

• If you selected “Freeze Instrument and Channels”, any insert effects used by the VST Instrument are also frozen (except for the post-fader inserts). However, you can always adjust level, pan, sends and EQ for frozen VST Instruments.

•Select “Freeze Instrument Only” if you don’t want to freeze any insert effects for the VST Instrument channels.

If you are using insert effects on the VST Instrument channel(s) and want to be able to edit, replace or remove these after freezing the VST Instrument, you should select this option.

•Select “Freeze Instrument and Channels” if you want to freeze all pre-fader insert effects for the VST Instrument channels.

If your VST Instrument channels are set up with the desired insert effects and you don’t need to edit these, select this option.

•You can set a Tail Size time to let sounds complete their normal release cycle.

Otherwise, the sound might be cut off at the very end of the freeze file.

•When you activate “Unload Instrument when Frozen”, the frozen VST Instrument will be removed.

This is useful if you are freezing an instrument that uses a lot of RAM, e.g. for pre-loading samples. By unloading the instrument, the RAM becomes available for other plug-ins, etc.

4. Click OK.

A progress dialog is shown while the program renders the VST Instrument audio to a file on your hard disk.

Unfreezing

If you need to make adjustments (either to the MIDI tracks, to the VST Instrument parameters or to the VST Instrument channels if these were frozen) you need to unfreeze the VST Instrument:

1.Click the Freeze button for the VST Instrument again (either in the VST Instruments window or in the Inspector).

You will be asked to confirm this operation.

2.Click “Unfreeze”.

The tracks and VST Instrument are restored and the rendered “freeze file” is deleted.

VST instruments and processor load

If you are working with VST 3 instruments, another way to relieve processor load is the option “Deactivate Plug-in when silence is detected” in the Preferences dialog (VST–Plug-ins page). This is described in detail in the section “Smart plug-in processing” on page 169.

Using presets for VSTi configuration

About track presets and VST presets

Track presets and VST presets allow you to quickly set up tracks or instruments with all the settings required for the sound you want. Nuendo provides various types of presets for various purposes. Two of these are of relevance for VST Instruments:

•Track presets for instrument tracks store the parameter settings of a VST Instrument together with all track/channel settings (applied audio and MIDI insert effects, etc.).

Instrument track presets can only be applied to instrument tracks, not to instrument channels activated in the VST Instruments window.

•VST presets store all panel settings for a plug-in (VST Instruments and VST effects), but no track/channel settings.

Note that you can create instrument tracks from VST 3 presets, i.e. selecting a VST 3 preset will create an instrument track with all settings stored in the VST preset plus an “empty” track.

For example, if you are looking for a bass sound, simply select the Bass category and you can browse and preview all bass sounds for all instruments. If you know you want a synth bass sound, select Synth Bass as sub-category and all synth bass sounds will be shown etc.

You can also browse and preview track presets for instrument tracks, i.e. instrument sounds plus all track settings and all channel insert effect settings for this track.

These features combined speed up the process of finding the right sound immensely.

• When creating your own presets, it is always a good idea to set up attributes for them, as it allows you to fully use the browsing features for your files, too.

This is described in detail in the chapter “The MediaBay” on page 314.

There are two ways of browsing for sounds:

• Using the Presets browser.

This will apply preset settings to an existing track.

As described in the chapter “Audio effects” on page 168, there are two types of VST presets that can be used: the VST 2 standard “.fxb/.fxp” files and the VST 3 preset standard with the extension “.vstpreset”. Some of the included VST Instruments use the VST 2 preset standard, and others use the VST 3 standard.

• Using the Browse Sounds dialog.

Use this dialog if you haven’t set up a track yet.

Using the Presets browser

1. Create an instrument track and select it in the track list.

You do not have to assign an instrument to the track, but make sure to specify a MIDI input.

All VST 2 instruments can import “.fxb/.fxp” files and also convert them to the VST 3 standard. Once converted, you can use all VST 3 features. See “About earlier VST Instrument presets” on page 200.

Ö For further information on Track presets and VST presets, see the chapter “Track Presets” on page 327.

Browsing for sounds

One important and often time-consuming aspect of music creation is the search for the right sounds. You might spend a huge amount of time trying out the presets for a particular instrument only to find out later that the preset for another instrument contains the sound you were looking for.

This is why Nuendo features extensive browsing possibilities, allowing you to preview all available presets without having to load them first!

In addition, you can filter your search by specifying category, style etc.

2.Make sure that the track settings are shown in the Inspector.

3.Click in the Track Preset field in the Inspector (the text field currently reads “No Track Preset”).

Click here…

…to open the Presets browser.

4. The Presets browser is opened. It contains three sections (Browser, Search & Viewer and Filter). By default, only the Search & Viewer section is shown. Note that it may take a moment before all available sounds appear in the Viewer.

• The Viewer section to the right displays all track presets for instrument tracks and all VST 3 presets.

Track presets for audio tracks, MIDI tracks or “multi” track setups are not displayed. The preset icon to the left of the file name indicates the type of preset.

5.Select a preset in the list.

6.Play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard to hear the preset sound. You can switch between presets and hear the sound when you play. You can also play back/loop a MIDI part on a track. Each time you select a preset, all associated track and/or instrument settings are automatically loaded.

7.Use the Filter section to search for specific attributes if you wish.

You can click on the attributes in the respective column (Category, Style etc.), to filter out all presets that do not match the selected attribute(s).

8.When you have found the right sound, click OK to close the dialog.

Using the “Browse Sounds” dialog

1. Open the Project menu–Add Track submenu and select “Browse Sounds”.

The Browse Sounds dialog is opened. It contains the same sections as the Apply Track Presets dialog (Browser, Viewer and Filter) and its Browser section also has the root “Presets” item selected – leave it like this.

• The Viewer section of the Browse Sounds dialog displays all preset sounds for all track types and all VST Instruments.

To preview the presets, you have to select a MIDI file or play MIDI notes on your MIDI keyboard because at this stage there is no track connected. This is done as follows:

2. Select a preset in the Viewer section.

A row of buttons appears in the dialog below the Viewer section.

3. Click the “Choose MIDI File” button.

This opens a file dialog where you can navigate to the location of a MIDI file (extension “.mid”).

4. Click “MIDI Input” and then the “Play” button.

The sound is played. For each new preset you select you have to click the “Play” button to preview the preset.

5.Use the Filter section to search for specific attributes if you wish.

You can click on the attributes in the respective column (Category, Style etc.), to filter out all presets that do not match the selected attribute(s).

6.When you have found a preset, click OK to close the dialog.

An instrument track is created. It will show all track and/or instrument settings that were saved in the preset.

Selecting VST Instrument presets

The previous sections focussed on selecting presets for the creation of new instrument tracks, or for changing the setup of an existing track. However, you can also use presets to change the settings of a VST Instrument.

Note that the following refers to the selection of VST 3 presets (.vstpreset). If you want to apply .fxp/.fxb presets to your VST 2 instruments in this way, see “About earlier VST Instrument presets” on page 200.

To select a VST Instrument preset, proceed as follows:

1.Load a VST Instrument (either in the VST Instruments window or via an instrument track).

2.If you use the VST Instruments window, select a MIDI track routed to the instrument. If you use an instrument track, select this.

3.If necessary, click on the track name at the top of the Inspector to open the basic track settings.

4. Click in the Programs field in the Inspector.

The Preset browser is opened.

5.Step through the presets during playback to find the sound you are looking for.

6.Double-click the desired preset to load it and close the preset browser.

•You can also open the preset browser by clicking in the preset name field in the the control panel of a VST Instrument or by clicking the VST Sound button in the control panel and selecting “Load Preset…” from the pop-up

•Selecting another preset in the preset browser will load it directly, replacing the previous preset.

•When the preset browser is open, you can still use Project window key commands, allowing you to start/stop playback or locate to different positions in the project.

•Clicking the Reset button below the Viewer will reload the last loaded preset.

Saving VST Instrument presets

You can save your settings as presets for further use (e.g. in other projects):

1. In the VST Instrument panel, click the VST Sound button to the right of the preset name and select “Save Preset” from the pop-up menu.

This opens a dialog where you can save the current settings as a preset.

Presets are saved into a default folder named VST3 Presets. Within this folder, there is a folder called “Steinberg Media Technologies” where the included presets are arranged in sub-folders named after each instrument.

You cannot change the default folder, but you can add further subfolders inside the instrument’s preset folder.

•Under Windows, the default preset folder is in the following location:

Boot drive/Documents and Settings/User name/Application data/VST3 Presets.

•Under Mac OS, the default preset folder is in the following location:

Users/Username/Library/Audio/Presets/<company>/<plug-in name>

2. Enter a name for the new preset in the File name field in the lower part of the dialog.

• If you wish to assign attributes to the preset, click the Tag Editor button.

Click in the Value column to select an appropriate “tag” for one or several of the available categories in the Attributes column. Tagging is described in detail in the chapter “The MediaBay” on page 314.

3. Click OK to store the preset and exit the dialog.

Extracting sound from Track Presets

You can extract a sound from a Track preset (disregarding any track/channel settings) and save it as a VST preset. Proceed as follows:

1.Click the VST Sound button (“Extract sound from Track Preset”) below the Output Routing pop-up menu in the Inspector.

This opens a dialog where all Track Presets are shown.

2.Select an instrument track preset or VST preset and click OK.

The VST Instrument and the settings (but no inserts, EQs or modifiers) of the existing track are overwritten using the data of the track preset. The previous VST Instrument for this instrument track is removed and the new VST Instrument with its settings is set up for the instrument track.

Track Presets are described in detail in the chapter “Track Presets” on page 327.